Five Fluff

Kate has challenged a few people to take up this Meme- it is an easy one. SO I am doing it, since hers made me chuckle and I immediately thought of what to say.

Five things Found in your Bag/Purse:
emergency dog leash
financial calculator
Starbuck's card
digital camera
tin of Altoids

Five Favourite Things in Your Room*:
silver water pitcher
turkey-shaped macarena whistle thing
orchid cactus on the shelf
painting by my friend Sasha Teter (who I have lost track of, where are you??)
metal coat/purse hanger in the shape of a Soldier Rabbit
(*not sure quite what to do with the phrase "your room" so I have simply chosen the room I am in at present - my office)

Five Things You Have Always Wanted to Do:
travel through outer space and meet aliens
grow a really productive garden
ride a horse well enough that I enjoy it
speak another language fluently
go to school without concern for financial responsibility

Five things you are currently into:
workworkwork
Lilly, my doglet
stripey bright things!
bits of sunlight
going to the ocean

I'm supposed to tag five people, but I am going to take the path trod by Kate:
If you Read it, You are Tagged!
So leave a comment and let me know where you are posting :)

Quilts on Display in Downtown Oly

If you were anywhere near Olympia WA (my home) this weekend you likely heard the beating of the drums-made-from-things and the stomping of dancers as they wound their way through our downtown and huge waves and trees being towed down the streets by people in outlandish costume.

While these sounds and sights could happen at any moment around here, there was an actual purpose this weekend.

What you witnessed was our home grown spectacle, the amazing springtime event, the Procession of the Species parade!
It is an annual thing, held during our equally wonderful spring ArtsWalk. And while the parade is only a few hours once a year, the Art of ArtsWalk is still available to see.

ArtsWalk is a cooperative event between local artists and downtown businesses: the businesses host and display the art and the public gets to come and see what is what. Some of the art is installed for just the official day of the Walk, but others, like my Quilt Guild's display, is up for a week. Some is up for even longer.

I had the opportunity to host the Guild Display at Olympia's well-loved Browser's Books on Saturday afternoon. I met lots of nice quilters and quilters-in-planning, and got to tell them where the wonderful local shops are, who is teaching what kind of classes, hand out brochures and invite to attend a couple Guild meetings.

And we sold Raffle tickets to this cute little reproduction fabrics quilt. (Only $1 per ticket!)

If you would like to see the amazing quits in person, please stop in at Browsers. Or at least look at the wonderful window displays, full of miniature quilts, doll quilts, quilted postcards, softies and stuffed things like Sock Monkeys!

I also posted some other pictures of the weekend and some of the other Art at my work-related blog.

Cute new shop!

In the Puget Sound area of Western Washington where I live, we are blessed with dozens of quilt shops, long arm quilters, quilt appraisals etc.
How many is this? I count 10 shops within a half hour drive of my house. (And here is a google map that shows the 56 shops on the Shop Hop this year: Map. This isn't even all the shops in the area!)
With so many places for the quilters to choose from, every shop strives to differentiate themselves and set themselves apart from the competition.


One of the members of my quilt guild recently opened her new shop for quilters and creafter in Tumwater: Ruby Street Quiltworks. She took over the space of a well known and well loved quilt shop called Quilters Quarters when the owners decided to focus on their longarm quilting business.


And the new shop is a complete success! She is carrying fabric lines no other shop has, tools and essentials, and has some very fun non-quilt related, but crafty and fun! I am doubly lucky in that she has invited my small Bee to come in to sew once a week. So when I get time away from my work schedule, I come in and sew around all these gorgeous fabrics.


Inspiration!
And some minor naughtiness- it is really hard to resist the pretty things, like the Kaffe Fasset fabrics.

And the owner has just sent out an email that there is now Open Sew on Sundays: 11 to 3 pm, just bring your machine and project and get working. How much fun is that!

I'm #37!

"Another Little Quilt Swap" has been posted, and I jumped! So that makes me #37 of the swappers from around the globe. I can't wait to hear who I get to make for. These little quilts go together so quickly- the hardest part is figuring out what to do. I must of course say Thank You to our fabulous Hostess, Kate. Now I must go prowl the web to see what has been made on the other little swappies recently.

Half a Pug, plus

We had one of those pretty spring mornings recently, and the dog and the husband and I all went out for a very brisk walk at a nearby park. I got some great pictures too- shapes that I think may translate to a quilt...

Gorgeous tree shapes
An outdoor art exhibit of stones
Big toys make some great shadows!